This book is gentle and real, tracing the story of an orphan in 1800’s Vermont during the Industrial Revolution. It deals with tougher topics and is well written. It took me and my students a very long time to read as nothing really happens in the book, or at least at a very slow pace. Unsure whether I will keep it in the curriculum for next year. ( )

I agreed to facilitate a book club for a group of homeschool kids who are reading novels related to the period in history that they are studying. First up was the Industrial Revolution! This book got mediocre reviews from the kids, but I really liked it. Lyddie's not the most lovable character, but her work ethic was so intense you had to be awed by her. I loved that she would tell herself (in her unfailingly modest way) that she could do anything because she once stared down a bear. Even the kids who were lukewarm on the book had to admit the way Lyddie fiercely fights for her family's future was impressive. I also found her relationship with money to be so interesting. She gives all her money away at one point, but later is a hardened skinflint.

In the book group we talked about child labor, labor reform, what it would be like to work at 14-hour day, and what we thought happened to Lyddie's father. ( )

Some of this felt kinda outdated but overall a good historical fiction about american industry and women. ( )

A girl that struggles in the industrial revolution period to get money to help her family. ( )

I enjoyed listening to this novel/audiobook about a young woman forced to move out into the world and make her way in 1840s New England. The characters are somewhat overly simplistic but not ridiculously so, and the story itself is engaging. The novel also ended at the right time in that it stopped before I grew bored and at a point where I really wanted to know what happened next.

(This is a title from the Build Your Library Level 5 curriculum booklist.) ( )